But if any of you have catched the Popish perverseness, and say [The Scripture is dark, and a dead letter; every sect pleads Scripture for their way; this will not serve our turn; we must have a living Judge] I answer such a one as followeth. 1. Is the Scripture the Law of God or not? If you say Not, you may as well say you are ⟨p. 92⟩Infidels. If you confess it is, then it must have the use of a Law. And, 2. Must not subjects understand a Law to live by it, though they be not Judges? And when estate and life depends on our obedience to the Law; if this Law now be so dark that the subjects cannot understand it, then it is no Law, as not being capable of the use and ends of a Law. And so if our salvation or damnation lye on our obedience to Gods Word and Law, its an intolerable reproach to God and it, to say it is such as we cannot understand. 3. Must we not be judged by this Law? Undoubtedly we must. And then should we not measure our Causes by it now? 4. May not Arbitrators make use of a Law to decide a controversy, before it come to the Jud•e? Doubtless they may. 5. What Judge would you have? There are but two in the world that pretend ⟨p. 93⟩to be the Universal Infallible Judge of controversies: and that is the Pope, and a General Council. For a General Council, there is none now in the world, nor like to be to the end of the world: God forbid we should defer our Peace till then. And its Decrees are as dark, and much more uncertain then the Word of God. And for the Pope, he is Head of a sect or party, and therefore not fit to be judge: you may well know he will judge on his own side. He must be judged by this Word of God himself. He is too far off, of all conscience, for us to go or send to. Where Rome is, the most of you know not: A shorter journey may better dispatch our work. The Papists themselves tell us that many Popes have been Murderers, Adulterers, Simonists, perjured persons, and some Heretics and Infidels. And must such as these be ⟨p. 94⟩our only Judges? They have erred oft already, and therefore they may deceive us: And if you send for the Popes Sentence, you must take the Messengers word that he was there, and that its true.
But if any of you have catcht the Popish perversness, and say [The Scripture is dark, and a dead letter; every sect pleads Scripture for their way; this will not serve our turn; we must have a living Judge] I answer such a one as followeth. 1. Is the Scripture the Law of God or not? If you say Not, you may as well say you are ⟨p. 92⟩Infidels. If you confess it is, then it must have the use of a Law. And, 2. Must not subjects understand a Law to live by it, though they be not Judges? And when estate and life depends on our obedience to the Law; if this Law now be so dark that the subjects cannot understand it, then it is no Law, as not being capable of the use and ends of a Law. And so if our salvation or damnation lye on our obedience to Gods Word and Law, its an intolerable reproach to God and it, to say it is such as we cannot understand. 3. Must we not be judged by this Law? Undoubtedly we must. And then should we not measure our Causes by it now? 4. May not Arbitrators make use of a Law to decide a controversie, before it come to the Jud•e? Doubtless they may. 5. What Judge would you have? There are but two in the world that pretend ⟨p. 93⟩to be the Universal Infallible Judge of controversies: and that is the Pope, and a General Council. For a General Council, there is none now in the world, nor like to be to the end of the world: God forbid we should defer our Peace till then. And its Decrees are as dark, and much more uncertain then the Word of God. And for the Pope, he is Head of a sect or party, and therefore not fit to be judge: you may well know he will judge on his own side. He must be judged by this Word of God himself. He is too far off, of all conscience, for us to go or send to. Where Rome is, the most of you know not: A shorter journey may better dispatch our work. The Papists themselves tell us that many Popes have been Murderers, Adulterers, Simonists, perjured persons, and some Hereticks and Infidels. And must such as these be ⟨p. 94⟩our only Judges? They have erred oft already, and therefore they may deceive us: And if you send for the Popes Sentence, you must take the Messengers word that he was there, and that its true.
